200 Mannin no Kanken for Nintendo DS

This article is the fourth part of a series dedicated to the different software for the Nintendo DS to learn the Japanese Kanji.

Kanji kentei – Kanji examination

The Kanji-kentei is the official test of the knowledge of th Japanese Kanji. There are 12 different grades (from 10 to 1 and two intermediate levels) with progressive difficulty based on the japanese education system. The software 200万人の漢検 (Ni Hyaku ManNin No KanKen) とことん漢字脳 (ToKoToN KanJi Nô) “Kanji examination for 2 millions, Kanji brain non-stop” was the first software available on the Nintendo DS to prepare for the Kanji kentei (or Kanken in short) (november 2006, IE Institute). It features 7000 questions covering all the levels of the Kanken, from the easiest 10級 (Jû Kyû) “10th grade” to the expert level of the 1級 (IkKyû) “1st grade”. Note that the pre-1st grade and the 1st grade are mixed into on category in this software. Also, a new version titled 250万人の漢検 (NiHyaku ManNin No KanKen) “Kanji examination for 2 millions and 500 thousands” featuring a Kanji dictionnary and 47000 questions has been released on november 2007. In this article, we will review the first version of the Kanken series.

Kanken DS

The main screen shows three items : はじめる (HaJiMeRu) “Start”, かんたん漢字力チェック (KanjiRyoku ChekKu) “Short test of your Japanese Kanji knowledge” and 通信 (TsûShin) “Link”. The “Start” menu item leads to the training part of the software while the second menu item would be use to show off the software to your friends. The third menu item is quite uncommon for a software of this category as it allows you to transfer some bits of the software to a second Nintendo DS or to play with a friend on a Kanji mini-game.

Kanken training

The training mode should somehow help you for the different grades of the Kanken Japanese kanji examination. However, as we said earlier, the two most difficult grades 準一級 (Jun IkKyû) “pre-1st grade” and 一級 (IkKyû) “1st grade”, are mixed together and have a very limited set of questions.

User profile creation

This software can track the progress of two users. The creation of an user profile start by indicating if you are a lefty or a right-handed person. This is to determine the best orientation of the screens as the Nintendo DS is to be held as a book for this software. Then you write down your name in Japanese and choose your sex to determine your character in the game. Finally, you will asked if you want to activate the story mode and the automatic character recognition.

Your journey to become a Kanji Master

If you choose the story mode, you will be greet by 漢字の神 (KanJi No Kami) “the Kanji goddess”. She will tell you that she expect you to replace her if you study hard. The characters and the background will change while you make some progress toward that goal. The story is not particularly great but it serves its purpose to keep you motivated to regularly use the software. Depending on your mark at the tests, your character will be able to collect some magic orbs that will give you access to locked features. There 4 different orbs : rainbow orb, gold ord, silver orb and bronze orb???.

At the first use of the day, the Kanji goddess will ask you to solve 今日の一問 (Kyô No Ichi Mon) “the question of the day”. There are 800 questions based on the Kanken: synonyms???, opposites, idioms, chinese reading versus japanese reading…

Then you access the main menu that shows the following options.

• 漢字力チェック (KanJiRyoku ChekKu) “Kanji examination”
• 学習 (GakuShû) “Learning”
• データ (De-Ta) “Data”
• ミニゲーム (MiNi Ge-Mu) “Mini game” (10 orbs to unlock)
• 全問アタック (ZenMonATakKu) “Time attack” (25 orbs to unlock)
• 設定 (SetTei) “Settings”
• And a last item that is unlocked when you reach a certain score at the time attack mode…

Kanji examination

When you begin the game, the available grades are limited to the grades from 10 to 5. You will have to pass the 5th grade to unlock the 4th grade and so on. An examination session is made of three parts with 5 questions each. Except for low number of questions, the examination feels like very close to the Kanji Kentei. The type of question depends on the grade. There is a wide range of questions : writing questions, reading questions, count the number of strokes of a Kanji, questions on the order of the strokes, vocabulary questions, verbs endings, idioms of 3 to 4 Kanji, idioms composition, incorrect Kanji. The touch screen is used to display the different grades while the main screen shows the orbs you have collected so far.???

Here is how the examination is done. Each question has to be answered in 30 seconds. You can skip a question but can’t go back. The main screen shows the question and the touchscreen is used to write or select the answer. At the end of the examination, you can check the correct answers with the おさらい (OSaRaI) “review” option. Finally, the software determines your mark and give you an orb function of the score based on the mark and the time it took you to answer. Only the mark is taken in account to determine if you pass the exam.

Training

The training section can be used to train on a particular type of question. The category selection screen shows the different type of question and progress bars with the percentage of cleared, missed and unanswered questions for each category. The second selection screen displays the unlocked grade and also features similar progress bars. The last screen has the following three options : 学習 (GakuShû) “learning”, 反復学習 (HanPukuGakuShû) “learning through repeatition” et 弱点克服 (JakuTenKokuFuku) “get over your weakness”. Globally, the user interface is more of the same for each mode. At the end of the exercice you will also access the result screen with the detail of your performance and a review option to check the correct answers. The first choice is similar to the Kanji examination except for the fact that there is only one category of question and that there is a ヒント (HiNTo) “hint” function that kick in when the countdown hit the last 10 seconds mark. The “learning through repeatition” is not limited in time and the answer is displayed right from the start through the hint feature. The whole set of questions for the grade is used. Unfortunately, it is always shown in the same order. The navigation buttons allow you to go back and forth between the different questions. Finally, the last mode is close to the “learning” mode except that only the questions you missed in the past are used. Here is the list of the categories of questions:

• 書き取り (KaKiToRi) “writing”
• 即読み漢字 (SokuYoMiKanJi) “reading”
• 筆順 (HitsuJun) “stroke order”
• 画数 (GaSû) “number of strokes”
• 送りがな (OkuRiGaNa) “ending”
• 三字・四字熟語 (SanJi YoJi JukuGo) “idiomes de 3 ou 4 Kanji”
• 熟語の構成 (JukuGo No KôSei) “composition of idioms”
• 誤字探し (GoJiSagaShi) “wrong Kanji”

Writing

The main screen shows a sentence in which some Kanji have been replaced by their reading in katakana. You have to write the corresponding Kanji on the touch screen. The hint function kicks in at the last 10 seconds and progressively reveals the answer through a mosaic effect.

Reading

It is the opposite of the previous exercise where you have to write the reading of some of the Kanji used in a sentence. The hint function successively displays the different hiragana with the same mosaic effect.

Stroke order

You are asked to enter the order of a stroke displayed in red for a particular Kanji. The hint function displays the next digit from the 10 seconds mark.

Number of strokes

This time you have to count the number of strokes of a Kanji. The rest is similar to the previous category.

Endings

This category allows you to test your ability to correctly write an adjective or a verb with an ending in hiragana. You have to choose between two writings for the word written in katakana in the sentence displayed on the main screen. To choose a writing, you simply have to tap on the A or B buttons displayed on the touchscreen. Given the limited number of choice, this category of question does not have a hint function.

Idioms made of 3 or 4 Kanji

You have to complete some idioms made of 3 or 4 Kanji by writing down the missing Kanji on the touchscreen. The hint funtion progressively reveals the missing Kanji.

Composition of the idioms

This category of question evaluates your ability to understand the composition of the idioms. The main screen shows an idiom and four models of idioms such as : 岩石 (GanSeki) “roche” made of synonyms, or 高低 (KôTei) “modulation (low and high)” made of opposites, 非常 (HiJô) “abnormal” composed of a Kanji that negates the other one, 洋画 (YôGa) “occidental movie” where the upper Kanji modifies the lower Kanji… The touchscreen shows the different choices with 4 buttons labeles A, B, C and D. The hint function progressively hides the incorrect choices.

Wrong Kanji

The last category of questions consists in looking for a misused Kanji in a sentence. The hint function shows the Kanji when it is correctly written.

Data

This screen shows your current level, the number of points you have collected through the orbs, the number of lessons you took and a global progression bar.

Mini-games

Same number of strokes

You need to collect 10 orbs in order to unlock this mini-game. The goal of the game is to select the Kanji with the same number of strokes than the one displayed on the main screen. This game also features a multiplayer option in which you have to answer faster than the other player.

Build idioms

This mini-game is available right from the start but does not have a single player mode. You have to form an idiom with your partner by choosing one pair of Kanji.

Time attack

You need to collect 25 orbs to unlock the time attack mode. This game uses the 800 questions of the day. The game stops at the first mistakes. The manual mentions that reaching a unspecified score will unlock another hidden feature. I have still not been able to unlock it myself. If I ever succeed I will update this article.

Options

The options menu allows you to select the orientation of the screen, to toggle the automatic character recognition, to turn off the background music or the sound effects, to turn off the question of the day, to delete your user profile and to watch the credits screen.

Short test

The かんたん漢字力チェック (KanTan KanJi Ryoku ChekKu) “simple test of Kanji knowledge” is probably a feature you will want to use once to check your initial level and then use it to demo the software to your friends. It is composed of 10 questions with an increasing difficulty that depends on your performance.

Transfer

The 200 Mannin KanKen is the only software in this category that uses the wireless capability of the Nintendo DS. You can either transfer かんたん漢字力チェック体験版 (KanTan KanJi Ryoku ChekKu TaiKenBan) “an evaluation version of the simple test of Kanji knowledge” or the mini-games with a multiplayer mode.

The Good

What is good about this software:

• You can deactivate the automatic character recognition so that you have all the time needed to write down a complicated Kanji.
• The experience is globally close to the real deal if not in a condensed version.
• Questions on all the different grades from the 10th to the 1st grade.
• Review feature that works across most of the features.
• Multi-player feature.
• A simple story mode that might help to motivate you to continue your training.

The Bad

What is bad about this software:

• The 7000 questions of the software are not enough to prepare the examination, particularly for the higher grades.
• The expert and semi-expert grades are mixed in one grade in this software.
• The automatic regonition seems to be biased toward the answer.
• Some category of questions found in the Kanken are not present in the software. For instance, there are no questions about the 部首 (BuShu) “key” of the Kanji and the synonyms, opposites, chinese-japanese readings are only available from the question of the day feature…
• It is impossible to desactivate the limit of time per question in order to manage your time.
• The number of question per examination is too low to really obtain a proper evaluation that can be trusted.
• The hint feature is not really interesting if only to reveal the answer in most of the categories.
• The review feature is half-baked: the answer is displayed right from the start and the questions are always asked in the The font is too small and it is really difficult to understand all the details in the more complex Kanji.
• The fact that the choice of the category is done before the selection of the grade baffles me. With such an order it is difficult to find one’s weakness for the grade we are working on.
• The progression bar is not computed on the set of unlocked questions but on the whole set. In consequence, it is difficult to find the categories for which we still have some work to do without navigating through the menu tree.

Conclusion

To be honest, I did not like this official KanKen for the Nintendo DS at first. This had to do with the bare-bone user-interface, the lack of effective features to actually memorize the Kanji and the tiny font. This test gave me the opportunity to dig down a lot more and actually learn to like it despite the numerous problems. If you are serious about taking the Kanji Kentei examination, this software will at best help you to determine which grade you should try or what are your weaknesses. If anything, the second version with 6 times the number of questions seems a better choice as a traning companion. If what you want to do is learn the japanese Kanji, I would rather not recommend this software because the font is too small, there is no integrated dictionnary. Clearly, this is not a software to learn the japanese Kanji but a software that let you have a try at the Kanji Kentei.

Any questions ?

If you have a question feel free to drop a comment. If you own the software and have a different take on it, please share it with us.